The Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement of Sri Lanka has been at the forefront of community level COVID-19 prevention and control activities since the beginning of the epidemic in March 2020 and has assumed responsibility to assist the Government’s effort to set up a hundred-bed Intermediary Care Centre at Thanamalwila, Monaragala District, Uva Province. This facility will be housed at the Sarvodaya Development Education Institute, one of the largest Sarvodaya owned educational facilities in the island. The Centre is being designed and established following the guidelines and standards of the Ministry of Health and World Health Organization (WHO) on ICC facilities.
Home care treatment is currently being promoted due to the increased number of caseloads at medical facilities. However, many patients are awaiting professional care as their health conditions deteriorate rapidly, resulting increased demand for bed capacity and high demand for professional medical care. Currently there are severe delays in providing beds and in patient care to those who certainly deserve it, also negatively impacting the increase of number of home-based deaths that are significant. An increase in deaths over the next three weeks would be inevitable. The COVID deaths may reach unprecedented levels and a grave national catastrophe is a real potential threat soon.
Under these circumstances, medical professionals had recommended to the government to set up Intermediary Care Centres (ICC) around the island to relieve the pressure on the health system, leaving ICU facilities and specialized hospitals to treat severe COVID patients. The Intermediary Care Centres will cater mainly for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms or for asymptomatic individuals who find it difficult to manage on their own through home-based care.
The primary beneficiaries of this center will be COVID-19 patients directed to the Centre by the Ministry of Health. They will particularly be from the lower socio-economic strata including daily wage earners, domestic and home workers and those who lack capacity to opting into home-based care. Given the current rising demands on the health system, Sarvodaya management is in careful consultation with the Ministry of Health to upgrade the Centre to a Secondary Care Facility if the need arises.
As of September 01, 2021, 2300hrs, the number of identified COVID-19 cases (cumulative) in Sri Lanka reached 444,130 (www.epid.gov.lk). Patients currently under medical care stands at 58,514. Total deaths are nearing 9,400. In terms of the pandemic and the spread of the Delta variant, Sri Lanka is currently experiencing a third wave resulting in an exponential rise in number of reported cases and related deaths where the daily average exceeds more than 4,500 positive cases. Current test positivity rate stands at over 25 percent. Given this dire situation the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) declared an island wide lockdown since 18th of August 2021.
Professional Medical Bodies in Sri Lanka have warned that the COVID deaths may reach unprecedented levels and that a real potential threat is largely imminent. Emphasizing that all healthcare resources are being overwhelmed, as indicated by the rapid increase in the utilization of all health sector beds and healthcare facilities by COVID patients, they also highlight that ‘the number requiring oxygen is rapid and exponentially rising while waiting lists for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) treatment and hospital beds, is rapidly increasing.’
Thanks to your contributions we have managed to bring the Care Center to near completion.
However, we are yet to complete a few remaining civil works and also purchase some essential items. We require funds up to approximately US$ 28,000 within the next few days, in order to complete and hand the Care Center over to the Government Health Authorities by Friday the 10th September.
Sarvodaya will be running the operations jointly, with the Government Health Authorities: Sarvodaya Community Health Unit (headed by a Specialist in Public Health) has assumed responsibility to coordinate the ICC in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
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